Accreditation Criteria

The Congressional Radio and Television Galleries are supervised by their Executive Committee of Correspondents, subject to the direction and control of the Speaker, as delegated by Rule VI of the U.S. House of Representatives; and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, as delegated by Rule XXXIII of the U.S. Senate.

Applicants desiring admission to the Congressional Radio and Television Galleries shall be Washington, DC-based, electronic newsgathering organizations who declare they meet the following requirements:

1. They are not engaged in the prosecution of claims or the promotion of legislation pending before Congress, the Departments, or the independent agencies, and that they will not become so employed without resigning from the galleries;
2. They are not employed in any legislative or executive department or independent agency of the Government, or by any foreign government or representative thereof;
3. They do not engage in any lobbying activities;
4. They do not and will not, directly or indirectly, furnish special information to any organization, individual, or group of individuals for the influencing of prices on any commodity or stock exchange during the time they retain membership in the galleries;
5. They are seeking accreditation for the purpose of covering the U.S. Congress only;
6. Their chief attention is given to – or more than one-half of their earned income is derived from – the gathering or reporting of news.

Additional requirements may be considered by the Executive Committee of Correspondents at its discretion.

The certifications required by the above rule shall be authenticated in a manner that shall be satisfactory to the Executive Committee of Correspondents, who shall see that the occupation of the galleries is confined to bona fide newsgatherers and/or reporters of reputable standing in their business who represent electronic newsgathering agencies engaged primarily in the daily dissemination of news.